IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


lii|2^    12.5 
Mi,  lU    |2.2 

I    Ufi    12.0 


1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


7] 


/: 


°ff 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


1980 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagie 


□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicul6e 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


D 
D 

n 


Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encra  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaisst^nt  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  dtait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  Ati  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires; 


L'institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6ti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproJuite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 


Ef 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  peiliculies 


I — I    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


□ 


Pages  d6color6e8,  tachet6es  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materif 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl6mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  per  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film6es  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


d 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  »u  taux  de  r6duction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

IPX 14X  18X    22X 


wtt 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


ils 

u 

lifier 

ne 

age 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  be{;lnnlng  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


L'exemplaire  film6  f ut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

La  bibliothdque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduces  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  netteti  de  l'exemplaire  film6.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplalres  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  filmis  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustratlon,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplalres 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commen9ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  coriporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustratlon  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernldre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —•^-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  sulvants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernldre  Image  de  cheque  h.irrofiche,  seton  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  i  des  taux  de  reduction  dIffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  W  est  fllmi  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrleur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  drolte, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


ate 


slure, 


3 


12X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

'M 


■ 


"'?-^..7Ftf  ■ 


TIME— RECKONING 


3rcs^  "ri-rrE 


"^ I ue n^hth  (Bcntii tt^ 


B-r 


SAiSlFORD    FLEMING, 

c.  M.  4m  hh.  d,,  c.  !•;..  i-:tc. 


II* ■    f-"IH    IIIIIM^IIII*»P> 


From   the   SMITHSONIAN   REPORT   Far   i88^. 


WASHIN(^,TON. 

1889. 


mMH  ».  AtlAMI^  MiMTga 


TIME— RECKONING 


S-OIR    XII3B 


^ I uc  M UetPi/  (B^vitiitijj 


SANFORD    FLEMING, 

C.  M.  G.,  LL.  I).,  C.  K.,  Etc. 


From   the    SMITHSONIAN    REPORT   For   1886. 


WASHINGTON, 
1889. 


•VRON  «.  MIAMI,  raiNTSa 


> 


1 


■ 


C5J 


(■'^, 


1/36 


TIME  RECKONING  FOR  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY. 

By  Sanford  Fleming,  C.  M.  0.,  LL.  D.,  C.  E.,  etc. 

During  the  early  historical  ages  much  chronological  coufusiou  i)re- 
vailed,  and  it  is  largely  owing  to  this  cause  that  the  annals  of  the  ceu- 
turics  which  preceded  the  Christian  era  are  involved  in  obscurity.  The 
attempt  to  end  this  general  disorder  was  made  by  Julius  Caesar,  who 
established  regulations  with  respect  to  the  divisions  of  time  and  the 
mode  of  reckoning  to  be  followed.  The  Julian  Calendar  was  introduced 
forty-six  years  before  Christ.  It  continued  uiu^hanged  until  the  six- 
teenth century.  In  1582  recognition  was  obtained  of  the  errors  and 
defects  which  the  circumstances  of  the  period  had  made  manifest  and 
which  demanded  correction.  Pope  Gregory  XIII  accordingly  directed 
the  reformation  of  the  calendar  and  established  new  rules  of  intercala- 
tion. These  two  epochs  are  certainly  the  most  important  iu  the  history 
of  our  chronology. 

Three  centuries  have  passed  since  the  reform  of  Pope  Gregory.  New 
continents  have  been  opened  to  civilization  and  immense  regions  then 
wholly  unknown  to  Europe  have  been  peopled  by  races  busied  in  com- 
merce and  skilled  in  the  arts,  and  characterized  by  unwearied  energy  and 
determination.  In  these  three  hundred  years  a  marvellous  succession 
of  inventions  bearing  upon  human  activity  and  progress  has  been  intro- 
duced, and  the  character  of  nearly  every  requirement  of  life  has  under- 
gone change.  The  discoveries  and  inventions  which  have  marked  this 
period  have  produced  new  conditions  of  society;  and  our  minds  have 
received  an  impulse  which  leads  to  investigation  wherever  need  of  im- 
provement appears  to  be  demanded.  It  is  within  the  last  half  century 
more  especially  that  the  bounds  of  human  knowledge  have  been  so 
wonderfully  extended ;  perhaps  in  the  whole  world's  annals  no  fifty 
years  have  witnessed  such  a  marvellous  revolution.  The  triumi>hs  of 
applied  science  in  facilitating  intercourse  between  men  and  nations 
have  given  an  extraordinary  impulse  to  general  progress,  but  in  so  do- 
ing they  have  developed  imperfections  in  our  system  of  time-notation 
which  previously  were  unknown,  and  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  escape 
the  conviction  that  we  have  reached  a  stage  when  further  reform  is  de- 
manded as  a  requirement  of  our  condition.  The  necessity  for  a  reform 
in  time-reckoning  is  recognized  by  the  highest  authority,  and  has  ob- 
tained a  hold  of  public  opinion.  The  President  of  the  United  States, 
General  Arthur,  at  the  request  of  Congress,  autfcoritatively  took  pro- 
ceedings to  bring  the  subject  prominently  to  the  attention  of  the  world. 
After  prolonged  diplomatic  oorrespoudeuce  with  the  Goverumeuts  of 

345 


346 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS. 


foreign  powers,  he  invited  delegates  from  all  nations  to  a  scientific  con- 
ference at  Washington  in  which  the  subject  should  be  fully  considered. 

The  conference  met  in  the  autumn  of  1884.  Twenty-five  nationalities 
were  represented.  The  proceedings  extended  over  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, and  they  resulted  in  the  almost  unanimous  adoption  of  seven  reso- 
lutions bearing  upon  time-reckoning. 

As  no  records  can  be  in  accord  unless  a  common  starting  point  be 
agreed  upon  from  which  computations  are  to  be  made,  the  first  resolu- 
tions had  reference  to  the  determination  of  an  initial  meridian.  The 
meridian  passing  through  Greenwich  was  selected. 

In  the  fourth  and  fifth  resolutions  the  conference  laid  down  the  follow- 
ing important  principles : 

IV.  "  That  the  conference  proposes  the  adoption  of  a  universal  day 
for  all  purposes  for  which  it  may  be  found  convenient  and  which  shall 
not  interfere  with  the  use  of  local  or  other  standard  time  where  desira- 
ble." 

V.  "  That  the  universal  day  is  to  be  a  mean  solar  day ;  is  to  begin  for 
all  the  world  at  the  moment  of  mean  midnight  of  the  initial  meridian, 
coinciding  with  the  civil  day  and  date  of  that  meridian,  and  is  to  be 
counted  from  zero  to  twenty-four  hours." 

The  opening  of  the  national  Congress  at  Washington  shortly  followed 
the  international  conference.  The  President  regarded  the  importance 
of  the  proceedings  to  be  such  as  to  call  for  special  mention  of  them  in 
his  annual  message.  General  Arthur  thus  expressed  himself  on  the 
subject:  "The  conference  concluded  its  labors  on  the  1st  of  November, 
having  with  substantial  unanimity  agreed  upon  the  meridian  of  Green- 
wich as  the  starting  point  whence  longitude  is  to  be  computed  through 
one  hundred  and  eighty  degrees  eastward  and  westward,  and  upon  the 
adoption,  for  all  purposes  for  which  it  may  be  found  convenient,  of  a 
universal  day,  which  shall  begin  at  midnight  on  the  initial  meridian 
and  whose  hours  shall  be  counted  from  zero  up  to  twenty-four." 

There  was  no  exaggerated  importance  in  these  allusions,  for  the  con- 
clusions of  the  conference  are  productive  of  most  important  results. 
They  make  provision  for  terminating  all  ambiguity  in  hours  and  dates 
and  for  establishing  t^jroughout  the  world,  free  from  national  suscepti- 
bility and  caprice,  perfect  uniformity  in  reckoning  time.  Some  years 
may  elapse  before  the  new  notation  becomes  the  one  recognized  mode 
of  reckoning;  but  when  it  shall  have  been  generally  accepted  in  the 
practice  of  daily  life,  it  is  calculated  to  sweep  away  the  difficulties  now 
experienced,  and  it  will  add  greatly  to  the  general  convenience  of  civil- 
ized man. 

One  of  the  first  practical  efforts  to  direct  public  attention  to  the  rap- 
idly growing  necessity  for  a  comprehensive  reform  in  time-reckoning 
can  be  found  in  a  paper  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Canadian 
Institute,  Toronto,  for  the  session  of  1878-'79.*    This  paper  adduces  in 

*  Time-reckonin  i  and  the  MleotioD  of  s  prime  meridian  to  be  common  to  all  nations. 
By  Sandford  Fleming. 


NEW   TIME-RECKONINO. 


347 


support  of  its  arpfuineut  many  pertit\eut  facts,  and  points  out  tbat  the 
gigautic  syHteais  of  railways  and  telcgrapliH  which  in  modern  times 
have  been  established  in  both  continents  have  developed  social  and 
cominerciat  conditions  which  never  previously  existed.  Tliese  condi- 
tions h  70  so  aflected  the  relations  of  time  and  distance  aa  to  establish 
the  fact  that  our  inherited  system  of  notation  is  defective;  that  it  is 
inconvenient  to  men  of  business;  I  hat  it  produces  confusion  and  fre- 
quently results  in  loss  of  life,  and  leads  to  other  difliculties;  that  under 
the  circumstances  which  have  followed  the  substitution  of  steam  for 
animals  as  a  motive  power,  the  ancient  usages  as  retained  in  our  nota- 
tion of  hours  and  dates  are  generally  inappropriate.  Moreover,  the  use 
of  the  telegraph  in  our  daily  lives  practically  subjects  the  whole  surface 
of  the  globe  to  the  observation  of  civilized  communities  in  each  individ- 
ual locality.  It  leaves  no  interval  of  time  between  widely  separated 
places  proportionate  to  their  distances  apart.  It  practically  brings 
into  close  contact  the  opposite  sides  of  the  earth  where  daylight  and 
darkness  prevail  at  the  same  period.  By  this  agency  noon,  midnight, 
sunrise,  sunset,  and  the  whole  range  of  intermediate  gradations  of  the 
day,  are  all  observed  and  recognized  at  the  same  moment.  Thus  in 
matters  out  of  the  domain  of  local  importance  confusion  is  developed 
and  all  count  of  time  is  thrown  into  multiplied  disorder. 

Again,  under  the  usages  now  observed,  a  day  !*<  assumed  to  begin 
twelve  hours  before — and  end  twelve  hours  after — the  sun  passes  the 
meridian  of  any  place.  As  the  globe  is  constantly  revolving  on  its  axis, 
afresh  meridian  is  every  moment  coming  under  the  sun;  as  a  conse- 
quence a  day  is  always  beginning  somewhere  and  always  ending  some- 
where. Each  meridian  around  the  circumference  of  the  sphere,  has  its 
own  day,  and  therefore  it  results  that  there  are,  during  every  diurnal 
revolution  of  the  earth,  an  infinite  number  of  local  days  all  beginning 
within  a  space  of  twenty-four  hours  and  each  continuing  twenty-four 
hours.  These  days  overlap  each  ot  her,  but  they  are  as  perfecOy  distinct 
as  they  are  infinite  in  number.  While  a  day  is  nominally  twenty-four 
hours  in  length,  as  a  matter  of  fact  forty-eight  hours  elapse  between  the 
first  beginning  and  the  last  ending  ot  every  week  day.  Taking  the 
whole  globe  into  our  view,  Sunday  actually  commences  in  the  middle  of 
Saturday  and  lasts  until  the  middle  of  Monday.  Again,  Saturday  runs 
into  the  middle  of  Sunday,  while  Monday  begins  twenty  four  hours  be- 
fore Sunday  comes  to  an  end  and  continues  twenty-four  hours  after 
Tuesday  commences.  Similarly  for  all  the  days  of  the  week,  as  time  is 
now  reckoned.  Except  those  on  the  same  meridian,  there  are  no  simul- 
taneous days  on  the  earth's  surface,  and  as  the  dift'erent  days  are  always 
in  .the  various  stages  of  ailvancemeut,  discrepancies  and  errors  must 
necessarily  result  in  assigning  the  precise  period  when  an  event  takes 
place.  The  telegraph  may  give  the  exact  local  time  of  an  occurrence, 
but  the  time  so  given  must  be  in  disagreement  with  local  time  on  every 
other  meridian  around  the  globe.    An  event  occurring  on  any  one  day 


348 


MI8CFXLANEOU8  PAPERS. 


may  on  the  instant  be  announced  in  a  locality  whore  the  time  is  that  of 
the  previous  day,  and  in  anotliur  locality  where  the  time  is  that  of  the 
following  day.  A bont  the  period  when  the  month  or  year  passes  into 
another  month  or  year  an  occurrence  may  actually  take  place,  accord- 
ing to  our  present  system  of  reckoning,  in  two  dilferent  months  or  in 
two  dift'erent  years;  indeed,  there  can  bo  no  certainty  whatever  with 
regard  to  time,  uidess  the  precise  geographical  position  be  speciUed  as 
an  essential  fact  in  connection  with  the  event  descriljed.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  must  be  conceded  tha^  our  present  system  of  notation 
is  most  defective,  certainly  it  is  unscientific,  and  i^ossesses  every  ele- 
ment of  confusion;  it  produces  a  degree  of  ambiguity  which,  as  railways 
and  telegraphs  become  greatly  multiplied,  will  lead  to  complications  in 
social  and  commercial  aflairs,  to  errors  in  chronology,  to  litigation  in 
connection  with  succession  to  property,  insurance,  contracts,  and  other 
matters;  and,  in  view  of  individual  and  general  rt'lationships,  it  will 
undoubtedly  act  as  a  clog  to  the  business  of  life  and  prove  an  iuc  '3* 
ing  hindrance  to  human  inte    '^urse. 

The  problem  to  be  mastered  is  to  put  an  end  to  this  confusion,  lu 
order  to  do  so,  it  is  imjjortant  that  we  should  endeavor  to  form  correct 
ideas  of  time  and  its  attributes. 

According  to  the  ordiiuuy  usages  which  we  follow,  the  time  of  any 
particular  locality  depends  upon  its  position  on  the  earth's  surface  ;  in 
other  words,  upon  its  longitude.  The  principle  followed  is  that  there 
is  a  separate  time  on  every  meridian  around  the  circumference  of  the 
globe.  Let  us  carry  this  theory  to  its  logical  conclusion.  Take,  by  way 
of  example,  a  hundre<l  or  a  thousand  meridians,  each  with  a  distinct  and 
separate  time.  It  will  be  conceded  that  what  is  true  of  one  point  on  a 
meridian  must  be  true  of  every  i>oint.  A  meridian  line  runs  due  north 
and  south  on  the  earth's  surface  from  pole  to  pole;  hence  it  follows 
that  at  the  point  where  every  meridian  must  converge  we  have  the  time 
of  every  meridian.  That  is  to  say,  at  the  earth's  pole,  a  point  common 
to  every  n)eridian,  there  are  a  ndred  or  a  thousand  different  nota- 
tions of  time,  each  distinct  and  separate.  The  extreme  absurdity  of 
this  hypothesis  establishes  beyond  question  that  the  preniisesare  false; 
and  it  is  in  no  way  8uri>rising  that  confusion  and  ditliculty  result  from 
a  system  such  as  we  possess,  based  on  principles  so  erroneous. 

We  may  here  ask  the  question:  "  Why  should  time  vary  with  every 
mile  of  longitude?"  The  answer  comes.  It  is  not  possible  to  conceive 
more  than  a  single  unity  of  time  in  the  whole  universe.  Time,  which  is 
**an  inHnite  continuity  in  infinite  space,"  re.sera\)les  a  mighty  river, 
whoso  unvarying  Htream  passes  before  us.  Such  a  river  is  unchangea- 
ble, yet  continually  changing;  volumes  of  water  always  advancing  are 
replaced  by  new  volumes  in  perpetual  succession,  and  yet  the  river  coii- 
tinues  one  and  the  same  ever  flowing  unity.  The  passing  stream  of  time 
is  much  the  same,  and  the  problem  presente<l  to  us  is  to  keep  a  proper 
record  of  its  flow.    It  is  perfectly  obvious  that  the  principles  which 


NEW  TIME-BECKONINO.  349 

should  govern  slionld  he  Rnch  ns  to  secure  complete  accord  in  the  detail 
of  its  udmeastireuiont  iiulepetutuiitly  of  locality.  All  peoples  are  cou- 
cerned  in  the  attainment  of  Imrnionious  results,  and  therefore  it  is  im- 
portant that  they  should  acquiesce  in  the  employment  of  the  same  unit 
of  computation  and  in  counting  the  measurements  from  one  common 
zero. 

We  have  not  to  look  in  vain  for  a  convenient  unit  and  the  most  per- 
fect instrument  for  measuring  the  passage  of  time.  The  rotation  of 
the  earth  on  its  axis  is  marked  by  complete  uniformity  of  movement, 
and  nothing  is  more  certain  than  the  recurrenceof  this  diurnal  phenom- 
enon. Accordingly  the  earth  itself  supplies  all  our  wants  as  a  time- 
keeper; in  it  we  have  at  our  command  a  i)erpetual  standard  for  the  use 
and  guidance  of  the  entire  family  of  man. 

Before,  however,  we  can  attain  this  end  it  is  essential  that  mankind 
should  come  to  an  agreement  on  the  following  points: 

1.  With  resi)ect  to  a  zero  from  which  the  revolutions  are  to  be  counted. 

2.  The  acceptiUice  of  a  common  subdivision  and  a  common  notation 
by  which  parts  of  revolutions  will  be  known  by  all  and  receive  univer- 
sal recognition. 

The  importance  of  a  definite  understanding  on  these  points  is  self- 
evident,  for  if  each  individual  or  group  of  individuals  adheres  to  the 
pre'   ee  of  observing  time  from  difierent  zeros  and  each  maintains  sep- 
arji     reckonings  of  it,  the  outcome  must  be  general  confusion,  such  as, 
we  now  experience. 

If  in  imagination  we  place  ourselves  at  oneiextremity  of  Uie  earth's 
axis,  we  shall  tind  ourselves  in  a  peci  arly  favorable  position,  free  from 
all  local  influences,  for  observing  the  revolutions  of  the  globe.  At  no 
other  point  in  the  northern  hemisphere  are  the  conditions  the  same.  A 
spectator  standing  at  the  north  pole  would  have  neither  east  ucr  west; 
in  whatever  direction  he  might  cast  his  eyes  he  would  look  towards  the 
south ;  he  would  no  longer  see  the  daily  return  of  sunrise  and  sunset; 
the  sun  when  visible  would  move,  or  seem  to  move,  in  a  horizontal  line, 
and  its  path  would  encircle  the  earth  parallel  to  and  not  far  distant 
from  the  horizon.  Under  such  circumstances  it  would  not  be  possible 
to  note  the  diurnal  revolutions  of  the  earth  by  the  rising  or  setting  of 
the  sun,  or  by  the  sun's  greatest  altitude  at  midday,  or  by  his  southern 
position  in  the  heavens.  As  the  passage  of  time  can  only  be  marked 
by  events,  what  course  could  be  followed!  Obviously  it  would  be  nec- 
essary to  take  special  means  to  observe  the  earth's  diurnal  rotation,  and 
the  method  most  readily  to  suggest  itself  would  be  to  select  a  conspic- 
uous object  near  the  horizon  and  according  to  this  object  observe  the 
sun's  passage  over  it.  The  object  so  selected  would  become  the  zero  of 
time,  and  the  interval  between  two  successive  solar  passag«^R  would  be 
the  period  occupied  by  a  revolution  of  the  earth.  If  from  zero  the  hori- 
zon be  divided  into  a  series  of  arcs  of  15°  each  the  whole  circle  around 
will  consist  of  twenty-four  divisions.    If  each  of  the  division  points  be 


350 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


Dumbered  from  zero  in  tbe  direction  contrary  to  the  motion  of  the  earth 
or  towards  the  right,  and  in  imagination  the  numbers  be  placed  in  a 
conspicuous  manner  against  the  sky,  the  spectator  will  have  within  his 
range  of  vision  a  great  dial-plate  on  which  as  it  revolves  the  vertical 
sun  will  continually  point  to  the  passing  hours.  With  the  twenty  four 
division  points  so  numbered  around  the  circle  of  the  horizon,  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  every  hour  in  the  day,  and  equally  the  smaller  divisions  of 
time,  will  invariably  be  manifested  by  the  solar  passage. 

As  the  imaginary  point  of  observation,  the  north  pole,  is  common  to 
every  meridian,  the  hours  and  minutes  indicated  by  the  great  polar 
chronometer  will  be  equally  common  to  every  locality  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe.  Whatever  the  longitude,  the  solar  passage  will  be  the  index 
of  time.  Two  successive  passages  at  zero  will  complete  an  interval  of 
twenty-four  hours ;  but  it  will  not  be  a  day  in  the  ordinarj'  sense,  as  an 
ordinary  d>'y  is  a  local  phenomenon  in  no  two  longitudes  identical.*  To 
distinguish  this  new  interval  of  time  common  to  the  whole  world  from 
the  infinite  number  of  local  days  at  present  recognize<l  it  has  been  sug- 
gested to  term  it  the  "  Cosmic  Day,"  or  some  distinctive  appellation  by 
which  it  may  be  known. 

Necessarily  the  zero  point  mnst  be  arbitrarily  selected  according  to 
convenience,  and  any  zero  whatever,  other  things  being  equal,  would 
serve  the  purpose  which  we  have  in  view.  We  have  only  to  assume  the 
zero  so  selected  to  coincide  with  the  Antiprime  Meridian  determined  by 
the^Vashington  Conference,  and  the  Cosmic  Day  will  be  identical  with 
the  Universal  Day,  established  under  the  same  authority.  A  Universal 
or  Cosmic  Day  may  therefore  be  defined  as  the  interval  of  time  between 
two  succeeding  solar  passages  at  the  Antiprime  Meridian  common  to  all 
nations. 

In  his  recent  discourse  on  the  subject  at  the  Eoyal  Institution,  Lon- 
don, the  astronomer  royal  for  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Christie,  expressed  a 
preference  for  the  term  "World  Time"  to  designate  this  new  measure  of 
duration.  It  has  been  termed  "  Cosmic  Time"  by  various  societies  and 
individuals;  but  the  name  is  of  secondary  importance,  if  it  be  under- 
stood that  the  new  measure  of  time  is  equjilly  related  to  every  locality. 
By  its  very  nature.  Cosmic  Time,  or  by  M'hatever  name  it  may  be  known, 
must  coincide  with  some  one  of  the  multiplicity  of  existing  times.  The 
decision  of  the  Washington  Conference  caused  it  to  correspond  with 
Greenwich  Civil  Time.  Greenwich  time  is  the  local  time  of  Gieenwich. 
Cosmic  Time  is  a  new  and  an  entirely  diflferent  conception;  itisiho  time 
of  the  world  common  to  every  nation.  "Cosmic"  and  "Greenwich"  tinio 
are  identical  fortuitously,  but  the  expressions  imply  two  totally  differ- 
ent ideas,  and  a  proper  deference  to  national  sensitiveness  suggests  the 
good  taste  and  expediency  of  distinguishing  the  two  ideas  by  different 
terms.    Some  distinctive  name  is  undoubtedly  called  for,  until  the 

*  The  Nantioal  Alinanao  deAn«H  an  ordinal^  Holnr  (l»y  to  be  the  interval  of  time  be- 
tween tbe  departure  otantf  meridian  from  tbe  sua  aud  its  Buccoodin^  return  to  it. 


NEW  TIME-BECKONWO. 


351 


period  arrives  when  the  unification  of  time  will  be  complete.  In  the  not 
far  distant  future  it  may  become  equally  as  unnecessary  to  speak  of 
"Solar,"  "Lunar," "Astronomical,"  "Civil," "Nautical,"  "Local," "Cos- 
mic," or  "  World"  time,  as  at  present  it  is  unnecessary  to  attach  these  or 
otherdistiuctive  appellations  to  "Space."  The  simple  expression  "Time" 
may  then  become  sufficient  for  all  purposes. 


1 

Lonj^itiulo  east  aiul  west 
from  Greenwich. 

2 

Longitndo 
west  from 
time  zero. 

3 

Lonp;itude 

by  hour 
meridians. 

4 

Cosmic  Time  at 

mean  solar 

passage. 

o 

180  anUprime  meridian.. 
I(i5  east 

o 

» 

15 

30 

45 

60 

75 

90 

105 

120 

135 

Number. 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

0  and  24 

ITour. 
Change  of  the  day. 

2 
3 
4 

'S 

6 

7 

8 

9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24  and  chanf^e. 

150  east  

1 35  oast .. 

120  oast 

105  east 

DO  east 

75  east ............. 

(K)  east 

45  east 

30  ojist 

150 
165 
180 
195 
210 
225 
240 
255 
270 
285 
300 
315 
330 

15  east  

0  the  prime  moridiuu  .. 
1.5  west 

30  west 

45  west  ...... 

60  west 

7.5  west 

<M)  west 

105  west 

120  west 

i;]r.  west 

1.50  west 

1().5  west 

345 

360  and  0 

180  antiprime  meridian  .. 

•  Zero  of  Cosmic  Time  and  of  Longitude. 

The  relation  between  time  and  longitude  is  important.  If  longitude 
be  reckoned  by  hour  meridians,  as  in  the  second  and  third  columns  of 
the  table,  that  is  to  say,  numbered  continually  westward  from  the  Anti- 
prime  Meridian,  which  is  the  true  time  zero,  the  inhabitants  of  every 
individual  locality  in  whatever  longitude  will  daily  have  an  opportunity 
of  regulating  time  by  the  great  natural  standard  of  measurenient. 
The  longitude  of  the  locality  being  known,  at  mean  solar  passage  the 
time  will  invariably  and  precisely  agree  with  the  longitude.  Con- 
versely, the  time  being  known,  the  longitude  of  the  place  will  be  in 
Hirict  agreeuient  with  time  at  th<^  moment  of  mean  solar  passage. 

A  reference  to  the  following  plate  will  make  it  clear  that  the  solar 
passage  will  be  the  invariable  index  of  Cosmic  Time. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  relative  position  of  sun  and  earth  at  the  initial  in- 
stant of  the  Cosmic  Day,  that  is,  at  the  moment  of  mean  solar  passage 
on  the  Antiprime  Meridian  adopted  by  the  Washington  Conference. 


352 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


Fig.  2  gives  the  position  when  ^he  earth  has  made  a  sixth  of  a  revo- 
Intion  and  four  hours  have  elapsed.  The  solar  passage  at  this  stage  is 
OD  the  fourbour  meridian. 


'O^'^^  ^ 


<^\ wm  ,\ 

V     rL  It     ^ 

!2  Ql   ^ 


^  W  ^  ZJ   / 


oo 


I  w  CI 


Fig.  3.  When  the  earth  haw  made  a  ihird  of  a  revolution  und  occupied 
a  period  of  eight  hours,  the  solar  pws>age  occurs  on  the  eight-hour  mo* 


ridian. 


mmmm 


■■;V-'.'^.','>"'  t'-.'f 


d 


NEW  TIME-BECKONING. 


353 


Fig.  4.  When  the  earth  has  made  half  a  revolntion  and  twelve  hours 
have  elapsed,  the  solar  passage  is  at  this  stage  on  twelve-hour  or  Prime 
Moriuiun. 

Similarly  for  every  other  meridian,  and  thus  the  precise  relation  be- 
tween Co8mic  Time  and  longitude  is  definitely  established. 

It  may  be  said  that  Cosmic  or  Universal  Time  is  accepted  in  science, 
but  its  adoption  in  ordinary  life  can  only  be  gradually  and  perhaps  with 
c.ifficulry  eftected.  It  is  i.ot  to  be  looked  for  that  a  change  so  marked, 
involving  a  revolution  of  thought  in  some  of  our  social  customs,  can  be 
speedily  introduced,  however  desirable  it  may  be  in  the  public  interest. 
There  is  a  class  of  men  who  habitually  express  their  cortempt  for  what 
they  designate  as  "  newfangled  notions,"  and  who  refuse  to  go  out  of 
siglU  of  old  land  marks.  The  usages  which  we  desire  to  supersede  are 
certainly  old,  for  they  took  their  origin  when  our  civilization  was  young. 
In  those  jlays  it  was  a  dogma  that  the  earth  had  a  flat  surface,  but  as 
the  belief  that  the  earth  is  a  plane  is  no  longer  invested  with  the  au- 
thority of  a  truth,  we  may  venture  to  call  in  question  the  theory  that 
each  locality  on  its  surface  possesses  an  independent  stream  of  time  and 
is  called  upon  to  defend  and  maintain  it.  The  human  race  is  no  longer 
eonfinod  within  a  narrow  area.  It  has  overspread  the  surface  of  the 
earth ;  in  the  Old  and  New  Worlds  it  has  grown,  in  some  portions  of  their 
extent  it  is  still  growing,  from  an  infantile  condition  to  a  state  of  man- 
hood.  Are  we  not  yet  able  to  look  beyond  one  individual  horizon  and 
enlarge  our  range  of  vision  so  as  to  include  a  system  which  will  satisfy 
the  requirements,  not  of  a  locality,  but  ot  the  whole  globe? 

We  are  living  in  an  age  of  intellectual  and  social  progress,  jirhen 
men  are  less  fettered  than  our  fathers  were  by  the  restraints  of  custom. 
On  tUe  continent  of  North  America  extraordinary  progress  has  already 
been  made  by  an  essentially  practical  people  towards  the  adoption  of 
a  complete  reform  in  tMue-reckoning.  What  is  known  as  the  Stand- 
ard-hour system,  in  itself  in  complete  harmony  with  the  principles  of 
Co»mic  Time,  has  been  in  common  use  for  nearly  three  years,  and  it  is 
generally  recognized  as  an  incalculable  benefit  to  the  whole  community, 

Througliont  the  United  States  and  Canada  we  have  outgrown  the  no- 
tion of  isolating  each  locality  by  compelling  it  to  observe  a  separate  time 
notation.  The  Continent  is  divided  into  zones,  each  zone  having  the 
same  time  throughout  its  extent,  based  on  a  meridian  which  is  a  multi- 
ple of  fliteen  degrees  from  the  Prime  Meridian.  Consequently  the  time 
of  each  zone  varies  exactly  one  hour  from  that  of  the  adjoining  zones. 
Thus  all  the  variations  of  time  which  formerly  were  limited  only  by  the 
number  of  towns  and  cities  and  localities  which  observed  their  own  lo- 
cal time  are  reduced  to  the  five  zones.  Only  at  points  where  the  zones 
come  in  contact  is  there  any  exception  to  the  common  satisfaction  which 
has  resulted  from  the  change.  These  are  the  only  localities  where  we 
find  the  old  tinje  difficulties,  now  so  happily  removed  from  every  other 
section  of  the  Continent.  At  such  localities  the  difficulties  must  con- 
H.  Mis.  170 23 


864 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS. 


tinne  to  be  felt  until  Cosmic  Time  comes  into  general  use,  for  it  is  the 
only  one  remedy  which  can  satisfy  every  requirement. 

The  Btuudard-hour  system  is  an  effective  preliminary  means  for  the 
introduction  of  unisersal  time,  and  it  is  not  confined  to  North  America. 
In  Sweden,  as  well  ay  Great  Britain,  the  principle  is  in  common  use. 
The  Standard  Time  of  Swedea  is  based  en  the  meridian  fifteen  degrees 
east  of  the  prime  meridian ;  consequently  an  hour  in  advance  of  the  Prime 
Meridian  time.  The  time  of  Great  Britain  is  that  of  the  prime  meridiaL 
itself. 

The  scheme  of  hour  meridians  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  provisional 
arrangement.  It  greatly  lessens  the  diflBculties  experienced,  but  it  does 
not  wholly  remove  them.  It  is,  however,  an  important  practical  step 
towards  the  general  unification  of  time,  as  it  brings  the  minutes  and  sec- 
onds into  complete  agreement  with  the  world's  time  wherever  the  sys- 
tem is  adopted.  The  Astronomer  Koyal  of  Great  Britain  calls  particular 
attention  to  the  breadth  of  view  evidenced  by  the  managers  of  the  Am- 
erican railways  who  were  so  largely  instrumental  in  having  this  impor- 
tant step  taken.  "  By  adopting  a  national  meridian  as  the  basis  of  their 
time-system  they  might  have  rendered  impracticable  the  idea  of  a  uni- 
versal time  to  be  used  by  Europe  as  well  as  America.  But  they  rose 
above  national  jealousies  and  decided  to  have  their  time-reckoning  based 
on  the  meridian  which  was  likely  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  great- 
est number,  thus  doing  their  utmost  to  promote  uniformity  of  time 
throughout  the  world  by  setting  an  example  of  the  sacrifice  of  human 
susceptibilities  to  general  expediency." 

There  is  one  feature  of  time-reform  alluded  to  by  President  Arthur  in 
his  message  to  Congress  which  promises  before  long  to  be  accepted  by 
the  community.  I  refer  to  the  proposal  to  count  the  hours  from  zero 
to  twenty-four.  The  recent  report  ot  the  special  committee  on  Standard 
Time  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  (January,  1886)  thus 
alludes  to  this  branch  of  the  subject : 

"  This  feature  has  the  authority  of  the  International  Conference  for 
its  introduction.  In  intelligent  circles  in  Europe,  particularly  in  Eng- 
land and  in  Russia,  also  at  the  antipodes  in  Australia,  the  proposal  is 
reported  to  have  been  greeted  with  enthusiasm.  The  Astronomer  Boyal 
of  England,  Mr.  Christie,  has  established  at  Greenwich  Observatory  a 
division  of  the  great  dial  into  twenty-four  hours.  In  London  and  in 
other  cities,  public  clocks  have  been  also  changed  to  accustom  the 
English  public  to  this  division  of  the  day.  Some  newspapers  in  all 
their  announcements  adopt  the  change,  and  scientific  societies  give 
notce  of  the.-  meetings  in  the  same  manner  as  this  Society,  according 
to  the  twenty-four-hour  system. 

"On  this  Continent  there  has  been  no  uncertain  sound.  In  the  last 
annual  report  of  the  Committee  it  was  stated  that  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-one managers  of  railways  in  the  Unitod  States  and  Canada  had  de- 
clared their  readiness  to  abandon  the  division  of  the  day  into  half-days, 


LiEW  TIME-BECKONING.  366 

known  as  ante  and  post  meridian,  and  to  accept  tne  nnmeration  of  the 
hours  in  one  series,  from  midni^i^ht  to  midnight,  these  managers  having 
under  their  control  some  60,000  miles  of  railway. 

"  During  the  past  year  the  seed  sown  has  been  fructifying,  and  many 
who  held  back  have  been  won  over  and  have  given  their  adhesion  to 
the  movement.  Among  the  many  important  railways  ready  to  co-oper- 
at«,  some  appear  to  sec  no  necessity  for  further  delay,  and  desire  to  se- 
cure at  once  the  advantages  which  will  result  from  the  change.  At  this 
date  it  is  publicly  announced  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Com- 
pany have  determined  to  adopt  the  24-hour  system,  and  are  actually 
l)rei>aring  to  make  the  change  at  an  ea.ly  day.*  Such  proceedings  can 
be  accepted  as  indicating  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  reform  which  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  has  advocated,  and  equally  shows 
the  discernment  of  those  who  direct  the  management  of  the  youngest 
of  the  transcontinental  railways.  This  practical  commencement  will, 
without  a  doubt,  be  speedily  followed  by  other  railway  companies,  and 
before  long  we  may  look  for  the  24-hour  system  coming  into  general  use.t 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  growing  feeling  in  many  quarters  in  favor  of 
the  24-hour  system.  It  is  reported  to  be  used  with  great  advantage  on 
the  whole  of  the  cables  and  other  lines  of  the  Eastern  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, and  its  connections  extending  from  England  through  Europe  and 
the  Mediterranean  to  Egypt,  and  from  Egypt  to  South  Africa,  India, 
China,  and  Japan,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand. 

It  is  a  pertinent  question  to  ask,  what  influence  these  various  changes 
will  have  in  preparing  the  public  mind  for  another,  and  it  may  be  said 
a  final,  change—the  adoption  of  one  uniform  time  in  every  longitude  t 
For  it  must  be  evident  to  the  thoughtful  observer  that  the  movement 

•  At  miilsuratner,  1S86,  the  Canadian  PaciAc  Railway  waa  opened  from  the  Atl&IItio 
to  the  Pacific  and  the  24-hour  system  went  into  force  in  running  "  through"  trains. 
The  example  set  by  the  railway  company  has  been  followed  in  the  towns  and  villages 
along  the  line,  and  the  inhabitants  generally  having  experienced  the  advantages  of 
the  cVango,  no  desire  is  expressed  in  any  quarter  to  return  to  the  old  usage. 

tThe  fuUowiug  fuot-nott<i  is  added:  "  It  is  proposed  to  adapt  clocks  and  watcaea 
DOW  in  use  to  the  change,  by  having  inscribed  on  the  existing  dials  the  new  numbers 
of  the  afternoon  hours— thirteen  to  twenty-four  (13  to  24)  inclusive.  The  only  prac- 
tical difiBculty  to  be  overcome  is  met  by  the  simple  expedient  of  placing  on  the  face 
of  the  watch  or  clock  a  supplementary  dial,  showing  the  new  afternoon  hours  in 
Arabic  numerals  within  the  present  Roman  figures.  The  supplementary  dial  must 
be  of  thin  material,  and  it  has  been  found  that,  by  being  made  simply  of  paper  and 
secured  to  its  position  by  any  gum  which  will  adhere  to  an  enammeled  surface,  the  ob- 
ject is  attained  withoutanyfnrther  alteration  of  the  watch  or  clock.  The  committee  is 
aware  that  these  seem  trifling  matters  to  bring  under  the  notice  of  the  convention, 
but  questions  of  great  moment  not  seldom  hinge  on  small  details.  It  la  evident,  from 
what  has  been  set  forth,  that  every  person  in  the  community  may,  at  the  cost  of  a  few 
cents  in  each  case,  adapt  his  watch  to  the  24-hour  system.  The  committee  accord- 
ingly repeat  their  conviction  that,  with  the  disappearance  of  the  only  practical  diffi- 
cnlty  at  an  insigniflcant  cost,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  railway  authorities  and 
the  community  at  large  adopting  the  change  as  soon  as  they  becomo  alive  to  its  ad- 
vantages."— Report  of  the  Bafi'alo  Coavention  of  th«  American  Society  of  Civil  En- 
gineers. 


'' 


356 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


for  reforming  oar  time-Bystem  will  not  have  attained  its  object  until 
this  end  be  accomplished. 

Those  persons  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  finishing  their  daily  work 
at  C  p.  m.  under  the  24-hour  system  will  end  it  at  18.  Those  who  re- 
tired to  rest  at  10  or  11  p.  m.  will  seek  their  beds  at  22  or  23.  The  idea 
that  solar  noon  and  12  o'clock  are  one  and  inseparable  has  already  been 
set  aside  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada ;  only  on  five  me- 
ridians—the GOth,  75th,  90th,  105th,  and  120th— is  it  held  to  be  12  o'clock 
at  the  mean  solar  passage.  In  all  other  longitudes  throughout  North 
America  the  identity  between  solar  noon  and  12  o'clock  has  practically 
been  swept  away. 

These  modifications  in  the  time  reckoning  must  tend  to  remove  the 
idea  that  there  is  some  necessary  connection  between  the  numbers  of 
the  hours  and  the  position  of  the  sun  in  each  local  firmament.  The 
force  ot  habit  has  heretofore  associated  noon  with  12  o'clock,  but  in  due 
time  it  will  become  obvious  to  every  one  that  the  hour  of  the  sun's  pas- 
sage at  any  one  locality  may  with  as  much  propriety  be  distinguished 
by  any  one  of  the  twenty-four  numbers  as  by  the  now  generally 
received  number  12.  So  soon  as  this  new  idea  comes  generally  to  be  ac- 
cepted, so  soon  as  it  is  understood  that  the  numbersof  the  hours  are  arbi- 
trary and  conventional,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  take  the  final  step  in 
time  reform  and  entirely  supersede  the  present  system  by  a  notation 
which  will  give  to  mankind  throughout  the  world  simultaneous  dates 
and  hours  and  minutes. 

The  final  step  may  appear  to  involve  serious  changes  in  much  which 
concerns  every  individual,  but  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  it  will  in 
any  way  interfere  with  the  periods  for  labor,  sleep,  meals,  or  any  ordi- 
nary usage.  The  one  chauge  will  be  in  the  numbers  of  the  hours.  In 
social  affairs  the  regulating  influence  of  daylight  and  darkness  will 
always,  as  now,  be  paramount.  The  terms  "noon  "and  "midnight" 
willcoutiuuo  to  preserve  their  present  meaning,  although  the  numbers 
of  the  hours  at  which  these  periods  occur  will  vary  in  each  case  accord- 
ing to  longitude.  Each  separate  meridian  will  have  its  own  midnight 
hour  disiinguished  from  the  midnight  hours  of  other  meridians  by  a 
distinctive  number.  So  also  with  the  noon  hour,  which,  as  alreatly 
stated,  will  invariably  agree  with  the  longitude  of  the  j)laee.  It  is  the 
midnight  hour  in  each  locality  which  will  consf  tute  the  initial  time- 
point  to  regulate  the  legal  hours  for  opening  and  closing  banks,  registry, 
and  other  public  offices.  The  midnight  hour  may  be  arbitrarily  chosen 
and  be  established  by  statute  as  circumstances  may  demand.  It  will  be 
held  to  be  the  local  zero  to  govern  the  hours  of  business,  working  hours, 
the  hours  for  attendance  at  church,  at  school,  and  at  places  of  amuse- 
ment, and  generally  to  regulate  all  the  social  affairs  of  life.  While  the 
seven  week  days  will  practically  remain  unchanged  in  every  longitude, 
the  simple  expedient  of  numbering  the  hours  so  that  everywhere  they 
will  correspond  with  Cosmic  Time  will  result  in  securing  the  general 
Qciformity  to  be  desired.    Thus  it  will  be  obvious  that  in  all  matters 


NEW   TIME-RECKONING. 


357 


relating  to  time,  whether  local  or  noD-Iocal,  the  same  hours,  rainates, 
aud  seconds  will  universally  be  observed  at  the  Maine  instant.  In  cases 
whei  business  men  separated  by  long  distances  make  contracts  by  tel- 
egraph, the  engagements  will  be  free  from  all  ambiguity  as  lo  time. 
Both  parties  will  be  bound  absolutely  by  the  same  notation. 

The  Cosmic  Day  is  a  new  measure  of  time  entirely  non-local.  It  will 
be  held  to  bo  the  date  of  the  world,  and  the  change  of  date  will  occur 
at  the  same  instant  in  all  longitudes.  On  the  prime  meridian  the  change 
of  date  will  be  at  midnight;  to  the  east  it  will  occur  after  midnight; 
and  to  the  west  of  the  prime  meridian  it  will  come  before  midnight. 
It  will  be  one  hour  before  or  after  midnight  for  every  fifteen  degrees  of 
west  or  east  longitude.  Fortunately,  in  nearly  all  the  important  coun- 
tries on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  the  change  of  date  will  occur  out  of 
ordinary  business  hours. 

It  will  thus  be  seei*  that  while  the  contemplated  reform  will  interfere 
as  little  as  i)0S8ible  with  existing  customs,  it  will  result  in  giving  to 
the  human  family  around  the  globe  concurrent  dates  and  in  making 
every  division  of  time  uniform  the  world  over. 

In  Sao  adoption  of  the  new  system,  temporary  inconvenience  may 
arise,  but  ii  will  be  trifling  in  extent  and  not  of  long  duration  ;  and  any 
momentary  disadvantage  should  not  be  allowed  to  weigh  against  the 
benefits  to  be  secured  to  mankind  for  all  future  ages. 

On  the  night  of  November  18,  1883,  a  noiseless  revolution  was  ef- 
fected throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada.  The  hands  of  the 
clocks  of  some  fifty  millions  of  people  were  for  the  most  part  moved 
forward  or  backward  in  order  to  indicate  the  time  of  one  of  the  five 
hour  zones.  The  time  now  observed  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the 
Pacific  varies  with  Cosmic  Time,  according  to  situation,  from  four  to 
eight  whole  hours.  In  North  America,  therefore,  the  portion  of  the  prob- 
lem yet  to  be  a<lju8ted  is  easy  of  solution.  As  the  minutes  and  seconds 
are  already  everywhere  in  agreement,  the  transition  to  universal  uni- 
formity of  reckoning  can  be  effected  simplyand  with  ease.  Itwill  only  be 
necessary  to  move  forward  the  dial  hands  of  the  clocks  an  even  nuujber 
of  hours,  varying  from  four  to  eight,  as  each  case  may  require,  to  bring 
the  Continent  into  complete  accord  with  the  time  of  the  world. 

When  eventually  it  may  become  necessary  to  bring  the  time  through- 
out all  parts  of  North  America  to  the  world's  standard,  the  transition 
may  be  effected  by  adjusting  the  clocks  as  follows: 

I.  Clocka  in  the  hour  zone»,of  the  west  meridians. 
Meridiau  west.  Hours. 

60°  ■)  ;  4 

750  5 

90°  >  will  have  to  be  mow aA  forward}.  6 

1050  I  I  7 

12003  [8 

Similaily  wherever  the  scheme  of  hour  meridians  be  adopted  the 
common  reckoning  may  with  equal  ease  be  secured.    To  the  west  of  the 


358 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


prime  meridian  tlie  clocks  will  require  to  be  moved  forward,  to  the  east 
backward.  In  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  the  change  would  thus  be 
eftected : 

II.  Clocks  in  the  hour  zones  of  the  east  meridians. 


Meridian  east. 
150") 
300 
450 
6OO 
750 
9003 


Hours. 

CI 
2 


will  have  to  be  moved  backward 


3 

14 

5 

C6 


Thus,  for  example.  New  Orleans,  in  the  hour  zone  of  the  90th  meridian 
west,  would  have  its  clocks  advanced  six  hours,  while  Calcutta,  in  the 
90th  meridian  east,  would  have  its  clocks  retardeU  six  hours.  By  the 
same  simple  process  of  transition,  every  city  and  district  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe  may  be  brought  to  the  one  common  time-reckoning. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  at  the  Washington  Conference  the  prin- 
ciple of  Universal  Time  obtained  unanimous  recognition  from  the  dele- 
gates of  so  many  nationalities.  It  is  a  presage  that  the  peoples  whom 
they  represent  will  before  long  be  fully  impressed  with  the  belief  that 
a  system  of  reckoning  time  uniformly  throughout  the  globe  is  really 
the  one  rational  system  by  which  it  can  be  noted,  and  the  only  system 
which  will  meet  the  demands  of  the  human  family  in  coming  years.  It 
is  only  step  by  step  that  a  reform  so  great  can  be  carried  out.  More- 
over, although  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  are  undoubtedly  serious, 
this  much  may  be  said  with  confidence,  that  they  are  less  formidable 
than  those  which  have  already  been  conquered.  A  few  years  back  the 
very  question  of  a  universal  time  for  all  nations  was  a  theor,'^  not  only 
new  in  itself  but  it  was  held  by  many  to  be  wild  and  Utopian,  and  so 
impracticable  as  to  be  unworthy  of  consideration.  In  187S  the  subject 
could  not  command  a  hearing  at  the  British  Association  I  Since  1S78 
the  arguments  advanced  to  point  out  the  necessity  of  change  have, 
however,  obtained  attention,  and  a  general  movement  for  reform  has 
been  inaugurated.  Scientific  and  practical  men  and  learned  societies 
in  both  hemispheres  have  taken  part  in  the  consideration  of  the  ques- 
tion. It  has  formed  the  subject  of  discussion  at  International  Con- 
gresses at  Venice  and  Rome.  The  President  and  Congress  of  the  United 
States  have  been  induced  to  take  decisive  action  in  connection  with  it. 
The  governments  of  twenty-five  civilized  nations  have  aided  in  its  devel- 
opment. The  International  Washington  Conference  itself  has  greatly 
promoted  the  solution  of  the  problem  by  coming  to  an  unanimous  de- 
termination on  the  essential  principles  to  be  observed.  In  several  coun- 
tries the  recommendations  of  the  conference  have  already  in  part  been 
acted  on,  and  changes  have  been  effected  which  a  few  years  back  were 
not  even  dreamed  of. 


NEW  TIME-RECKONING. 


859 


If  BO  mucb  bas  been  accomplisbed  within  tbo  oigbt  years  siuce  tbe 
scheme  of  reform  was  first  promulgated,  is  it  too  mucb  to  expect  that 
the  public  mind  will  be  prepared  in  tbe  more  advanced  communities  to 
accept  the  final  step  in  a  like  period  f 

In  about  a  dozen  years  we  pass  in^  another  century.  Is  it  tak- 
ing too  sanguine  a  view  to  suggest  that  by  that  time  all  nations  will 
be  willing  to  accept  tbe  change,  and  that  tbe  first  day  of  January  in 
the  Twentieth  Century  may  appropriately  be  inaugurated  by  tbe  adop- 
tion of  one  uniform  system  of  reckoning  time  throughout  the  world  T 

I  learn  from  the  recent  lecture  of  the  Astronomer  Boy  al  that  tbe  Board 
of  Visitors  of  Greenwich  Observatory  have  unanimously  recommended 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  resolutions  of  the  Washington  Conference, 
the  Astronomical  day  should  in  the  English  Nautical  Almanac  be  ar- 
ranged from  the  year  1891  (the  earliest  practicable  date)  to  begin  at 
Greenwich  midnight,  so  as  to  agree  with  the  civil  reckoning,  and  further 
that  steps  have  been  taken  to  give  effect  to  this  recommendation ;  thus 
in  a  few  years  this  source  of  confusion  to  sailors  navigating  ships  using 
the  Nautical  Almanac — embracing  at  least  70  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage  of 
the  world — will  be  removed.  The  distinguished  Russian  Astronomer, 
Struve,  has  suggested  that  all  astronomers  throughout  the  world  should 
simultaneously  abandon  Astronomical  Time  and  bring  their  notation 
into  harmony  with  the  civil  reckoning.  He  further  suggests  that  this 
reform  should  be  introduced  into  tbe  publications  of  observatories  at 
the  initial  day  of  tbe  century.  In  reference  to  this  the  Astronomer 
Soyal,  Greenwich,  says  (October,  1885)  "it  would  be  intolerable  to  have 
a  fundamental  question  of  time-reckoning  left  open  for  fifteen  years," 
and  urges  that  tbe  step  be  taken  ten  years  earlier.  Be  that  as  it  may 
with  regard  to  the  assimJation  of  the  astronomical  and  civil  notations 
no  one  can  question  that  tbe  change  of  the  century  is  an  appropriate 
period  for  effecting  the  complete  unification  of  time,  and  doing  away 
with  all  the  errors  of  our  present  mode  of  reckoning.  E\ery  auxiliary 
circumstance  points  to  the  possibility  of  that  result  being  attained.  The 
proceedings  of  the  Washington  Conference  have  given  the  movement 
an  immense  impulse.  Its  members  have  authoritatively  recognized  the 
principles  on  which  the  now  notation  may  be  established.  So  unim- 
peachable and  simple  are  thege  principles  as  to  be  within  the  grasp  of 
the  most  limited  comprehension.  In  their  application  we  may  have  to 
contend  against  the  prejudices  engendered  by  habit  and  custom,  but 
the  principles  of  reckoning  tin;e  adopted  by  the  conference  are  based 
on  truth  and  they  commend  themselves  to  every  one  of  intelligence,  aa 
the  proper  means  to  meet  the  admitted  emergency.  The  unanimity 
with  which  the  standard  hour  system  was  brought  into  common  use  in 
North  America  is  an  evidence  that  the  age  is  sufiSciently  intelligent  to 
adopt  a  reform  when  its  advantages  are  understood.  It  will  doubtless 
require  the  lapse  of  some  years  to  win  over  those  who  feel  it  to  be  a 
bounden  duty  to  cling  to  old  institutions  and  existing  customs.    Grad- 


360 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS. 


onlly,  however,  the  minds  of  the  great  mass  of  men  mil  become  famil- 
iarized with  the  new  ideas  and  in  the  end  the  new  system  of  notation 
can  not  fail  to  prevail.  The  main  obstacles  to  be  overcome  are  the 
restraints  which  tradition  imposes  and  the  usages  which  our  ancestors 
have  transmitted  to  us.  But  prejudices  of  this  character  can  lie  gradu- 
ally and  certainly  surmounted,  if  the  true  principlea  of  time-rtickoning 
bo  taught  iu  schools  and  colleges.  Iti  a  few  years  the  youth  of  to-day 
will  be  moving  actors  in  life,  to  iutlucnco  public  opinion  and  so  effect 
an  easy  escape  from  the  thraldom  of  custom.  We  have  therefore  good 
grounds  for  the  belief  that,  by  the  dawn  of  the  coming  century,  the 
civilized  nations  may  enjoy  a  system  of  notation  limited  to  no  locality; 
when  the  record  of  the  events  of  history  will  be  unmarked  by  doubt; 
when  ambiguity  iu  hours  and  dates  will  be  at  an  end;  whoa  every 
division  of  time  will  be  concurrent  in  all  longitudes. 

These  expectations  realized,  tho  Washington  Conference  will  have 
rendered  a  great  service  to  mankind.  If  the  reforms  of  B.  C.  46  and 
A.  D.  1582  owed  their  origin  to  the  dominant  necessity  of  removing 
confusion  in  connection  with  tho  notations  which  existed  in  the  then 
conditions  of  the  human  race,  in  no  less  degree  is  another  reform  de- 
manded by  the  new  conditions  which  are  presented  in  this  age.  Ob- 
viously the  needed  change  could  not  be  consummated  at  a  more  suitable 
period  than  at  tho  beginning  of  tho  new  century,  but  whether  effected 
at  that  or  an  earlier  date,  a  provision  is  made  for  the  change  in  the 
conclusions  and  recommendations  of  the  Washington  Conference — a 
conference  which,  representing  all  civilized  nations  and  having  estab- 
lished the  fundamental  principles  of  the  new  notation,  must  be  held  by 
future  generations  to  mark  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  the  world  not 
less  important  than  those  of  the  reforms  of  Julius  Csesar  and  Pope 
Gregory  XIII. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTE. 


TIMB  RECKONING  FROM  THE  PROCEEDIKOS  OF  THE  CANADIAN  INSTTTUTE  ISTS-"™. 

(Extract.) 

Porsons  wlio  iuliabit  different  sections  of  th^  eartli  differ  from  each  other  in  their 
reckouing  of  the  day.  At  one  place  it  is  noon,  at  another  it  ie  midnight;  at  a  third 
It  is  snnrise,  at  a  fourth  it  is  sunset.  In  consequence  we  have  the  elements  of  con« 
fusion,  which  involve  in  some  cases  the  mistake  of  a  whole  day. 

People  even  living  in  the  same  meridian  may  differ  a  day  in  their  nsnal  reckoning 
of  time,  according  as  the  countries  they  inhabit  have  been  colonized  from  the  one 
side  or  the  other  of  the  globe.  Thero  are  instances  iu  the  Pacific  Ocean  where  islands 
almost  adjacent  reckon  by  different  days  of  the  month  and  week ;  a  circumstance 
calculated  to  produce  mnch  confusion  when  intercourse  becomes  frequent. 

In  Alaska  the  days  of  the  week  and  month  were  one  day  in  advance  of  those  in  the 
adjacent  olony  of  British  Columbiu,  iudecd  of  the  whole  of  America  On  the  ad- 
vent of  citizens  of  the  United  States  a  few  years  ago,  whe;:.  that  territory  was  trana- 
ferroil  by  Eassia,  the  Saturday  was  found  tu  be  the  Sunday  of  t*  '>  old  residents.  For 
ordiuary  business  purposes  a  change  became  necessary,  and  k  dispensation  waa 
granted  in  1871  by  the  diguitarics  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Basaia,  anthorLcing  their 


mm 


NEW   TIME-RECKONING.  361 

missionaries  and  adherents  in  Alaska  to  celt  brato  Sunday  a  day  later,  or  on  Monday, 
according  to  the  old  reckoning. 

The  reverse  has  bein  mot  in  another  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  Philippine  Islands, 
lying  between  Australia  and  AHia,  and  about  100  degrees  of  longitude  to  the  west  of 
Alaska,  '.vero  discovered  in  1521  by  the  illustrious  Magellan  in  his  memorable  first  cir- 
cumnavigation of  the  globe.  That  navigator  followed  the  sun  in  his  path  around  the 
world.  Legfispi  sncceeded  him  aud  took  possession  of  these  important  islands  in  the 
name  of  Philip  II,  King  of  Spain.  The  Philippine  Islands  extend  for  a  thousand  milea 
from  north  to  south,  they  embrace  Mauillii,  one  of  the  oldest  cities  of  the  Indies,  aud  they 
contain  a  population  of  5,000,000.  They  were  colonized,  as  well  as  discovered,  by 
Spaniards  coming  from  the  East,  and  ns  a  consequence  the  reckoning  of  the  inhab- 
itants has  for  more  than  throe  centuries  remained  a  day  behind  the  day  in  Britibh 
India  and  the  neighboring  countries  in  Asia. 

Travelers  who  arrive  at  New  Zealand  or  the  Australian  colonies  by  the  San  Fran- 
cisco route  meet  the  same  diflFerer.ce,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  countries  in  the  South 
Pacific  were  colonized  from  the  West.  The  day  ol  the  week  aud  of  the  month  carried 
from  San  Francisco  never  agrees  with  the  day  and  date  reckoned  by  the  inhabitants 
at  the  destination  of  the  steamer. 

All  travelers  who  have  made  the  voyage  between  America  and  Asia  have  expe- 
rienced the  difficulty  in  reckoning  referred  to.  Those  who  have  procee<led  westward 
have  lost,  while  those  who  have  traveled  eastward  have  gained  a  day.  In  Mrs. 
Brassey's  Around  the  World  in  the  Yacht  Sunbeam,  this  experience  is  recorded.  The 
journal  of  that  lady  passes  from  Wednesday,  January  10,  directly  to  Friday,  January 
12— Thursday,  January  11,  having  no  existence  with  the  travelers. 

In  sailing  across  the  Pacific  from  west  to  east,  one  day  has  to  be  repeated  before 
lauding  on  the  American  coast.  If,  for  example,  the  correction  be  made  on  Wednes- 
day, Ist  July,  there  will  be  two  Wednesdays  in  the  one  week,  and  two  days  of  the 
month  dated  July  1. 

A  journey  round  the  world  is  now  an  everyday  undertaking,  and  is  accomplished 
with  comparative  ease.  Suppose  two  travelers  set  out  from  a  given  place,  one  going 
eastwardly,  the  other  westwardly.  A  singular  circumstance  will  result  when  they 
both  return  to  the  common  starting  point,  and  the  reason  is  obvious.  One  man  will 
arrive,  accouling  to  his  reckoning,  say  on  Tuesday,  December  31,  when  in  fact  at 
that  locality  it  is  Wednesday,  Janr  "  1.  The  other  traveler,  assuming  that  he  has 
kept  accurately  a  daily  journal,  will  enter  in  his  diary  on  precisely  the  same  day, 
Thursday,  January  2.  This  consequence  has  been  brought  out  by  Edgar  Allen  Poe, 
in  his  amusing  story  of  "Three  Sundays  in  one  Wee»,"  but  it  no  longer  can  be  held 
to  be  an  imaginary  contingency,  since  steam  communication  by  land  and  water  is 
now  alfording  extraordinary  facilities  for  making  the  tour  of  the  globe. 

To  illustrate  the  difficulty  more  particularly.  First,  let  us  select  points  in  four 
quarters  of  the  globe,  each  about  90  degrees  apart,  say  in  Japan,  Arabia,  Newfound- 
a  nd,  and  Alaska.  If  we  assume  it  to  be  Sunday  midnight  at  the  first-mentioned 
place,  it  must  be  noon  at  the  opposite  point,  Newfoundland,  but  on  what  day  is  it 
nount  Arabia  being  to  the  west  of  Japan,  the  local  time  there  will  be  6  p.  m.,  on 
Sunday,  and  Alaska,  lying  to  the  east  of  Japan,  the  time  there  will  beG  a.  m.  on  Mon- 
day. Again,  when  the  clock  indicates  G  p.  m.  on  Sunday  in  Arabia,  it  must  be  Sunday 
noou  at  a  point  90  degrees  farther  west,  or  at  Newfoundland  ;  when  it  is  G  a.  m.  on  Mou- 
day  in  AIa.ska,  it  must  be  noou  on  Monday  90  degrees  farther  east,  also  at  Newfound- 
land. Thus,  by  tracing  local  time  eaMt  and  west  from  a  given  point  to  its  antipodes, 
the  clock  on  the  one  hand  becomes  twelve  hours  slower,  on  the  other  hand  twelve 
hours  faster.  In  the  case  in  point,  while  it  is  midnight  on  Sunday  in  Japan,  at  pre- 
cisely the  same  moment  it  la  noon  at  Newfoundland  on  two  distiuot  days,  viz,  on  Sun- 
day and  on  Monday. 

Secondly,  let  as  trace  local  time  only  in  one  directiou  around  the  earth.  The  day 
does  not  begin  everywhere  at  the  same  moment.    Its  commencement  travels  flrom 


362 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


eaat  to  west  with  the  snn,  as  the  eartH  revolves  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  it 
takes  an  entire  revolution  of  the  globe  on  its  axis  for  the  day  everywhere  to  be  en- 
tered on.  Immediately  on  the  completion  of  one  revolution  the  inception  of  any  one 
day  ends,  and  at  this  moment  the  end  of  the  day  begins;  and  the  globe  must  make 
another  complete  revolution  before  the  end  ot  the  day  entirely  finishes.  The  globe 
must  in  fact  make  two  entire  revolutions  before  any  one  week  day  runs  out,  conae- 
qiiently  each  aud  every  day  of  the  week  runs  over  forty -eight  hours;  and,  taking 
the  whole  globe  into  account,  two  civil  days  always  co-exist.  The  first  twenty-fonr 
hours  of  one  day  co-exist  with  the  last  twenty-four  hours  of  its  predecessor,  while 
the  remaining  twenty-four  hours  co-oxist  with  the  first  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day 
which  follows. 

It  is  difficult  to  accept  the  fact  that  any  one  day  lasts  more  than  t*^enty-four  hours; 
but  it  uan  be  demonstrated  that  it  is  the  case.  Let  us  place  together  several  maps  of 
the  world  on  Mercator's  "  Projection,"  so  as  to  represent,  in  consecutive  order,  each 
part  of  the  earth's  surface  as  it  passes  the  sun  during  several  diurnal  revolutions. 
(See  plate). 

AA^,  A^A^,  are  intended  to  represent  eacl.  u  complete  map  of  the  world.  Within 
each  of  these  limits  every  place  on  the  earth's  surface  is  brought  under  the  sun  during 
a  daily  revolution. 

The  vertical  lines  E  IN  B  F  represent  meridians,  for  the  sake  of  simplicity  selected 
60  degrees  apart,  and  the  stars  or  dots  at  their  intersection  denote  the  beginning  and 
end  of  a  day  on  each  of  the  six  meridians.  As  the  earth  revolves,  the  sun  passes  suc- 
cessively the  meridians  of  those  localities,  with  an  interval  of  four  hours  elapsing  be- 
tween each. 

Let  us  assume  it  to  be  12  o'clock  midnight  on  Thursday  at  meridian  A.  At  that 
moment  anil  at  that  place  Friday  begins  and  ruus  for  twenty-four  hoars,  or  on  the 
diagram  frora  A  to  AK 

Four  bopi-s  later  Friday  begins  on  meridian  E,  and  runs  four  hours  on  the  second 
map,  or  into  the  second  revolution  of  the  earth.  Four  hours  still  later  Friday  begins 
on  meridian  /and  runs  eight  on  the  ^econd  map  or  into  the  second  revolution.  This 
goes  on  from  spot  to  spot,  nntil  at  last  the  commencement  of  Friday  reaches  the  last 
meridian,  and  at  that  point  Friday  ruus  entirely  across  the  second  map  to  A*.  Thus 
Friday  begins  at^,  runs  during  two  complete  revolutions  of  the  earth,  as  shown  on 
the  map  from  A  to  A*. 

The  diagram  will  thus  illustrate  the  duration  of  every  day  in  the  week,  and  it  be- 
comes obvious,  when  wo  take  a  general  view  of  the  whole  globe  on  any  given  day, 
say  Saturday,  that  day  begins  in  the  nuddlo  of  Friday  aud  docs  not  end  until  tiie 
middle  of  Sunday.  Friday,  on  the  other  hand,  beginning  in  the  middle  of  Thursday, 
runs  into  the  middle  of  Saturday,  while  Sunday  commences  at  the  moment  Friday 
ends.  To  state  the  case  difl'erently  :  the  same  montent  of  absolute  time  which  is  part 
of  Saturday  in  one  place,  is  equally  part  of  Friday  and  of  Sunday  in  some  other 
places  east  and  west. 

It  is  a  preconceived  idea  with  many  that  there  is  a  simultaneons  Sunday  over  the 
earth,  and  that  Christians  in  every  meridian  keep  the  Lord's  day  at  oneand  the  same 
time.  Facts,  howevur,  establish  that  this  is  a  mistake.  From  its  first  commence- 
ment to  its  final  ending,  the  Sunday  extends  over  forty-eight  hours.  Indeed,  if  we 
take  into  account  the  remarkable  circumstance  mentioned  with  regard  to  Alaska  aud 
the  Philippine  Islands,  Sunday  has  been  discovered  to  lun  over  some  fifty- five  hours. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  any  day  in  the  week  ;  and  as  a  consequence  we  have,  taking 
the  whole  globe  into  view,  Saturday  and  Monday  running  over  the  intervening  Sun 
day  to  overlax)  each  other  about  seven  hours.  We  have,  in  fact  as  a  constant  occui 
rence,  ^yortions  of  three  consecutive  days  co-existont. 

From  the  fact  that  not  only  are  the  hours  of  the  day  different  in  every  meridian, 
but  that  different  days  are  constantly  in  progress  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  it  is  a  diflQ- 
onlt  matter  under  our  present  system  of  reckoning  to  assign  relatively  the  hour  and 


NEW   TIME-RECKONING. 


863 


■ 


:W 


364  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

day  when  events  take  place.  We  may  learn  of  an  occnrrence,  and  the  time  assigned 
will  be  correct  in  the  meridian  of  the  locality.  Everywhere  else  it  will  bo  inaccurate. 
Indeed,  if  the  fact  of  the  occurrence  be  transmitted  over  the  world  by  telegraph,  it 
may,  in  sore  places,  be  recorded  on  different  days.*  If  the  incident  occurs  at  the 
close  of  a  r  h,  or  a  year,  it  may  actually  take  place  in  t  .vo  different  months,  or  two 
distinct  ye 

Under  ou  ^  jseut  system  it  is  quite  possible  for  two  events  to  take  place  several 
hours  apart,  the  first  and  older  occurring  in  the  new  year  in  one  locality ;  the  second, 
although  the  more  recent  in  absolute  time,  falling,  in  another  locality,  within  the 
<il<l  year.  The  same  may  be  said  of  events  that  occur  during  the  per'  jQ  which  elapses 
when  one  century  merges  into  another.  In  one  part  of  the  globe  the  same  event  may 
tr.iuspire  in  the  nineteenth  century,  while  in  another  it  falls  within  the  twentieth 
century. 
fir.  Another  diflBcnlty,  forced  on  the  attention  by  the  science  of  the  century,  is  maiuly 

due  to  the  agency  of  electricity,  emi»loyed  as  a  means  of  telegraphy,  and  to  steam 
applied  to  locomotives.  These  extraordinary  sister  agencies  having  revolutionized 
the  relation  of  distance  and  time,  having  bridged  space,  and  diawn  into  closer  affin- 
ity portions  of  the  earth's  surface  previously  separated  by  long  and,  in  some  cases, 
inaccessible  distances. 

Let  us  take  the  case  of  a  traveler  in  North  America.  lie  lands  at  Halifax  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  starts  by  a  railway  to  Chicago  through  the  eastern  portions  of  Canada. 
His  route  is  over  the  Intercolonial,  the  Grand  Trunk,  and  other  lines.  He  stops  at 
St.  John,  Quebec,  Montreal,  Ottawa,  Toronto,  Hamilton,  and  Detroit.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  journey  ho  sets  his  watch  by  Halifax  lime.  As  he  reaches  each  place  in 
succession,  he  finds  a  considerable  variation  in  the  clocks  by  which  the  trains  are 
run,  and  he  discovers  that  at  ro  two  [daces  is  the  same  time  osed.  Between  Halifax 
and  Chicago  he  finds  the  railways  oba^rving  no  less  than  seven  dilfcrent  standards  of 
time.  If  the  traveller  remains  at  any  one  «,f  the  cities  referred  to,  be  must  alter  his 
watch  to  avoid  inconvenience,  and  perhaps  not  a  few  disappointments  and  annoy- 
ances to  himself  and  others.  If,  however,  he  should  not  alter  his  watch,  ho  would 
discover  on  reaching  Chicago  that  it  was  an  hour  and  thirty-five  minutes  faster  than 
the  clucks  and  watches  in  that  city. 

If  his  journey  be  made  by  one  of  the  routes  through  the  United  States,  the  varia- 
tion in  time  and  its  inconveniences  will  not  be  less.  If  he  extends  his  journey  west 
of  Chicago,  traveling  from  place  to  place  until  he  reaches  San  Francisco,  he  will  meet 
continual  change,  and  finally  discovers  a  loss  in  time  of  nearly  four  hours  (3h.  5flm.). 
Between  the  extieme  points  tbei;e  are  many  standards  of  time,  each  city  or  place  of 
importance  generally  being  governed  by  its  own  meridian.  Hence  the  discrepancies 
which  perplex  the  traveler  in  moving  from  place  to  place. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  indeed  wherever  lines  of  communication  extend 
between  points  differing  to  any  considerable  extent  in  longitude,  the  same  difficulty 
is  experienced.  On  a  journey  from  Paris  to  Vienna  or  to  St.  Petersburg,  the  stand- 
ard time  employed  by  the  railways  changes  fn  quently,  and  the  extieme  difference  in 
time  between  the  first  and  last  city  is  nearly  two  hours.  As  railways  and  ttjlegraphs 
•re  extended  in  Russia,  the  inconveniences  will  become  of  serious  importance  in  that 
country.  Within  the  limits  of  Russia  in  Europe  and  Asia,  the  extreme  variations  of 
time  is  about  twelve  hours. 

Snppose  wo  take'tho  case  of  a  person  traveling  from  London  to  India.  He  starts 
with  Greenwich  time,  but  ho  scarcely  leaves  the  hhores  i>t  England  when  he  finds  his 
Wfttoh  no  longer  right.  Paris  time  is  used  for  the  journey  until  that  of  Rome  be- 
coraos  the  standard.  At  Brindisl  there  is  another  change.  Up  the  Mediterranean 
•hips' lime  is  used.    At  Alexandria  Egyptian  time  is  the  standard.     At  Suez,  Bhipa' 

•  TiMB  AND  TFIK  Tki.eoRAPII.- A  message  dated  Simla,  l.Tn'S  a.  m.  Wednesday,  was 
received  in  London  at  11. 47  p.  m  on  Tuesday.  As  the  clerk  said,  with  pardonable 
oonfu»iou,  "  Why,  this  message  was  sent  off  to-morrow."— Timet. 


J. 


^ 


.L 


NEW   TIME-KECKONING.  365 

time  IN  reBumcd,  and  continnea,  with  daily  changes,  until  India  is  reached.  Arriving 
at  Bombay,  the  traveler  will  find  two  standards  employed,  local  time  and  railway 
time,  the  latter  bein^  that  of  Madras.  If  he  has  not  altered  his  watch  since  be  left 
England,  he  will  find  it  soino  five  hours  slow.  Should  he  continue  ^is  Journey  to 
China,  it  will  have  fallen  eight  hours  behind. 

In  the  United  Kingdom  the  difficulties  due  to  longitude  are  only  felt  in  a  modified 
form.  The  greater  island,  embracing  England  and  Scotland,  is  comparatively  limited 
in  width  ;  oue  standard  of  time  is  therefore  used.  It  is  only  in  respect  to  the  sister 
island,  Ireland,  Ihut  th«  difference  iu  longitude  calls  for  a  difference  in  time.  In  tlie 
whole  United  Kingdom,  consequently,  there  are  practically  only  two  standards,  viz, 
Greenwich  time  and  Irish  time,  the  difference  being  twenty-fiv-  minutes.  No  one, 
therefore,  whone  experience  bus  been  confined  to  the  United  Kingdom,  can  form  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  causes  alluded  to, 
where  geographical  circumstances  render  necessary  the  use  of  a  multiplicity  of  stand- 
•rds. 

The  railway  system  in  the  principal  agent  in  the  developing  of  the  difficulties  re- 
ferred to,  and  the  still  further  extension  of  steam  communications  in  great  continental 
lines  is  forcing  the  subject  on  public  attention.  Canada  supplies  a  good  illustration 
of  what  is  occurring.  The  lailways  built  and  projected  will  extend  from  the  eastern 
coast  of  Newfoundland  on  the  Atlantic  to  the  western  coast  of  British  Columbia  on 
the  Pacific,  eml)racing  about  75°  of  longitude.  Every  Canadian  city  has  its  own 
lime.  Innumerable  settlements  are  now  being  formed  throughout  the  country 
ultimately  to  be  traversed  by  railways;  and  in  a  few  years  scores  of  populous  towns 
and  cities  \vill  spring  up  in  the  now  uninhabited  territories  between  the  two  oceans. 
Each  «)f  these  places  will  have  its  own  local  time,  and  the  difference  between  the 
clocks  ut  the  two  extremes  of  Canada  will  be  full j  tl>»  hours.  The  difficulties  which 
will  ultimately  arise  from  this  state  of  things  are  apparent.  They  are  already  in 
some  degree  felt,  they  are  year  by  year  increasing,  and  will  at  no  distant  day  be- 
come seriously  inconvenient.     Thin  is  the  case  not  in  Canada  alone,  but  all  the  world 

over. 

•  •••••• 

The  division  of  the  day  into  two  halves,  each  containing  twelve  hours,  and  each 
^MmbcTcd  from  1  to  1-',  is  also  a  fertile  source  of  error  and  inconvenience. 

I'ravelcrs  who  have  had  occasion  to  consult  railway  guides  and  steam-boat  time- 
tables will  be  familiar  with  the  inconvenience  resulting  from  this  caustt;  none  know 
better  l)y  experience  how  much  the  divisions  ante  meridiati  and  post  meridian  have 
batiled  their  inquiries,  and  how  often  these  arbitrary  divisions  have  led  to  mistakes. 
Were  it  necessary,  innuroerable  instances  could  be  given.  The  evil,  however,  is  one 
HO  familiar  that  it  has  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  unavoidable,  and  is,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  silently  endured. 

The  halving  of  the  day  has  doubtless  long  been  in  use,  but  beyond  its  claim  to 
antiquity,  is  a  custom  that  confers  not  a  single  benefit,  and  is  marked  by  nothing  to 
recommend  it. 

SCHEMB   OF    COSMIC  OR  UNIVKU8AL  TIMK. 

1.  That  a  system  of  universal  time  be  established,  with  the  view  of  facilitating 
aynchronous  scientific  observations,  for  chronological  reckoningK,  for  the  puri)08eof 
trade  and  commerce  by  sea  and  land,  and  for  all  such  uses  to  which  it  is  applicable. 

2.  That  the  system  be  established  for  the  common  obserA  oe  of  all  peoples,  an«l 
of  such  a  character  that  it  may  be  adopted  by  each  separate  community,  as  may  be 
found  expedient. 

3.  Tliat  the  system  be  based  on  the  principle  that  for  all  terrebtrial  time-reckonings 
there  be  one  recognized  unit  of  measurement  only,  and  that  all  measured  intervals 
of  time  be  directly  related  to  the  one-unit  measure. 

4.  That  the  unit  measure  be  the  period  occupied  by  the  diurnal  revolution  of  the 
earth,  defined  by  the  mean  solar  passage  at  the  meridian  twelve  hours  firom  the  prim« 
meridian  established  through  Qreenwioh. 


366 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPEBS. 


5.  That  the  unit  measare  deflaed  as  above  be  held  to  be  a  day  abaolnte,  and  desig- 
nated a  coHmio  day. 

6.  Thai  snch  cosmic  day  be  held  aa  the  chronological  date  of  the  earth,  changing 
with  the  mean  solar  passage  at  the  anti-meridian  of  Qreen'wicb. 

7.  That  all  diviKions  and  multiples  of  the  cosmic  day  be  known  as  cosmic  time. 

8.  That  the  cosmic  day  be  divided  into  hours,  numbered  in  a  single  series,  one  to 
twenty-four  (1  to  24),  and  that  the  hours  be  subdivided,  as  ordinary  honrs,  into  min- 
utes and  seconds. 

Note.— Aa  an  alternative  means  of  distinguishing  the  cosmic  honrs  from  the  hours 
in  local  reckonings,  they  may  be  denoted  by  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  which,  omit- 
ting I  and  V,  are  twenty-four  in  number. 

9.  That  until  cosmic  time  be  accepted  as  the  recognized  means  of  reckoning  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life,  it  is  advisable  to  assimilate  the  system  to  present  usages,  and 
to  provide  for  the  easy  translation  of  local  reckonings  into  cosmic  time,  and  vice  vena; 
that,  therefore,  in  theory,  and  as  closely  as  possible  in  practice,  local  reckonings  be 
based  on  a  known  interval  in  advance  or  behind  cosmic  time. 

10.  That  the  snrface  of  the  globe  be  divided  by  twenty-four  eqni-distant  hour-merid- 
ians, corresponding  with  the  honrs  of  the  cosmic  day. 

11.  That,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  several  hour-meridians  be  taken  according  to 
the  longitude  of  the  locality,  to  regulate  local  reckonings,  in  a  manner  similar  to  the 
system  in  use  throughout  North  America. 

12.  That  in  all  cases  where  an  honr-meridian  is  adopted  as  the  standard  for  regulat- 
ing local  reckonings  in  a  particular  section  or  district,  the  civil  day  shall  be  held  to 
commence  twelve  hours  before,  and  end  twelve  honrs  after,  the  mean  solar  passage 
of  such  hour  meridian. 

13.  That  the  civil  day,  based  on  the  prime  meridian  of  Greenwich,  shall  coincide 
and  be  one  with  the  cosmic  day.  That  civil  days  on  meridians  east  of  Greenwich 
shall  be  (according  to  the  longitude)  a  known  number  of  hours,  or  hours  and  min- 
utes, in  advance  of  cosmic  time,  and  to  the  west  of  Greenwich  the  contrary. 

14.  That  the  surface  of  the  globe  being  divided  by  twenty-four  eqni-distant  merid- 
ians (fifteen  degrees  apart)  corresponding  with  the  hours  of  the  cosmic  day,  it  is 
advisable  that  longitude  be  reckoned  according  to  these  hour-meridians. 

15.  That  divisions  of  longitude  less  than  an  hour  (fifteen  degrees)  be  reckoned  in 
minutes  and  seconds  and  parts  of  seconds. 

16.  That  longitude  be  reckoned  continuously  towards  the  west,  beginning  with  zero 
at  the  anti-prime  meridian,  twelve  hours  from  Greenwich. 

17.  That  longitude  generally  be  denoted  by  the  same  terms  as  those  applied  to  cos- 
mic time. 


